Neil Olshey hopped on the private jet of owner Paul Allen on Wednesday with two objectives: Get to Salt Lake City and hire Jerry Sloan as the next coach of the Trail Blazers.

The bold new general manager of the Blazers accomplished only one objective.

He got to Salt Lake City, spent nearly two hours with the legendary Utah Jazz coach, and made him a formal offer.

The 70-year-old Sloan, who hadn't coached since resigning from the Jazz in February 2011, said he needed to sleep on it.

By Thursday morning, after Olshey had flown back to Portland, Sloan called back and said the timing wasn't right for him to get back into coaching.

It was the second home-run swing Olshey has taken since he was hired five weeks ago, and although it was his second whiff -- he missed out on restricted free agent center Roy Hibbert when Indiana said it would match his offer -- Olshey merely shrugged his shoulders on Friday.

He might as well have recited the old adage: You can't hit a home run unless you swing big.

"Now," Olshey said matter-of-factly, "we will start the coaching search."

Olshey said interviews will begin late Sunday and run throughout next week at NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, where 23 NBA teams are gathered. Although Olshey said he will interview some candidates who have prior head coaching experience, it appears the bulk of his estimated seven to 10 candidates are NBA assistant coaches.

Golden State assistant Michael Malone will be one of the candidates to interview, according to his agent Steve Kauffman, and it is believed Brian Shaw (Indiana), Mike Budenholzer (San Antonio), David Fizdale (Miami), Rex Kalamian (Oklahoma City) and David Joerger (Memphis) will also interview. SI.com reported former Orlando assistant Steve Clifford will be interviewed and CBS Sports.com reported that Chicago assistant Adrian Griffin will be considered.

Former NBA coaches without a job include Mike D'Antoni, who is an assistant on Team USA; Flip Saunders, who was offered the Blazers job in 2001 and former Blazers coach Mike Dunleavy.

Blazers assistant Kaleb Canales, who went 8-15 as interim coach after Nate McMillan was fired in March, also will be a candidate. Canales will coach the team's Summer League entrant, and in the minds of the players, is the front-runner for the job.

"I think I speak on behalf of the team when I say that we all feel Kaleb is the one for us," Wesley Matthews said Friday. "Every single player, top to bottom, wants to be coached by this guy."

Because the Blazers will have five rookies, and two seldom-used youngsters in Nolan Smith and Luke Babbitt, Olshey said he wants the coach to be a "teacher, motivator ... somebody who can lay the groundwork for a group of young players."

Olshey said some candidates might get two interviews in Las Vegas, and he said he expects to narrow the pool of candidates by the July 21 conclusion of Summer League. After that, he will determine which candidates go in front of Allen. On Wednesday, he said he was prepared to put Sloan on the private jet and fly him to Allen and consummate a deal.

"He is the only one I did that with, and he is the only one I would have done that for," Olshey said. "I thought he would have been a great fit for the organization as far as teaching these guys how to be professionals, and lay a foundation from a work-ethic standpoint and teaching guys to play the right way. If it's not coach Sloan, we will find someone else who will adhere to those standards. Because that is what we are looking for: a teacher."

Notes: Orlando also is looking for a head coach and has interviewed Malone, Shaw, San Antonio assistant Jacque Vaughn, and former Lakers assistant Quin Snyder, who has since taken a job overseas ... Olshey said Blazers assistant GM Bill Branch will lead a coaching search for the team's Development League affiliate, the Idaho Stampede. In May, the Blazers took over control of the Stampede, making it their own minor league team. Olshey said he intends to use the Development League liberally this season so young players can get experience instead of "sitting behind our bench in Armani suits." Olshey said he wants the new Blazers head coach to have input on the Idaho coach because the Stampede will run the same system as the Blazers.